WAVES OF ANXIETY washed through Ravenna. Her chest constricted tight, her heart thudding loudly behind her ears. She stared blankly at Vyses's now empty chair. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind.
Only one thought seemed to completely and utterly drown out the rest.
He had lied to her about Caelan's death.
And now he had abandoned her.
She remained rooted to her chair, her fingers curled tight around the edges of the decorated armrests. Ice danced across her knuckles. It seeped into the armrests within her grasp and spread throughout the chair, covering it in sharp, jagged forms of ice. Her entire body trembled. It felt distant to her. She couldn't control it. She was losing control.
She couldn't breathe.
No air entered her body. Her lungs had shriveled into nothing, constricting so tightly that a splintering pain had replaced their existence. Nausea swelled within her stomach. It lurked at the back of her throat, burning her esophagus.
"Your highness," one of the advisers addressed her softly. His voice was gentle. Distant. "Your highness, are you alright?"
"Yes," came her whispered, automatic response.
A hand lightly touched her shoulder. Ravenna felt her head turn toward the sensation. An adviser's concerned expression appeared within her vision. She watched his mouth move around unheard words.
She suddenly became acutely aware of a familiar fire burning against her chest. The flames seemed to burst to life, seeping through her skin. It scorched the anxiety that had flooded her veins, replacing it with an overwhelming sense of anger.
A shard of ice burst from the skin of her shoulder, tearing through the material of her dress. The adviser jolted backwards and fell to the ground, clutching his hand to his chest. Blood leaked through his fingers and dripped toward the ground.
"I said that I was fine," Ravenna snapped at him. The ice around her vanished as she stood. She pressed her palm against the talisman that hung at her chest, her fingers curling tightly around it. She pulled it away, letting it sit atop her palm, and glowered at it.
It glowed bright — its invisible fire sent waves of agony through her skin.
The anger that coursed through her veins grew tenfold and her jaw clenched tight. She pulled the talisman upward, trying to lift it past her chin, to get it off. It glowed brighter. It refused to move.
"Stupid talisman," she hissed venomously under her breath.
A petrified sound drew her attention away from the talisman. She allowed it to drop against her chest and her gaze flickered toward the source of the sound. The royal advisers cowered on the other side of the table, watching her. One squeaked in fear as she met his gaze.
"This meeting is over," she announced coldly.
They bolted from the room before anything else could be said. Ravenna huffed and started to make her way toward the royal chambers. As she walked, her anger started to fade.
And as her anger started to fade, the talisman's glow did as well.
A sickening realization washed through her. Her fingers curled around the talisman again, separating it from the thin skin, muscle, and bone that covered her heart. A memory came to the forefront of her mind.
In the very beginning, Caelan had told her that her powers were controlled by her emotions. By her fear. Anytime that she felt threatened or felt fear, her powers would react before she could stop them. The only solution was to be more observant and more present with what happened in the world around her.
She stared at the talisman that rested atop her palm.
Ever since Vyses had placed the talisman on her, her mood had been uncontrollable. She had so many mood swings — so much fiery anger burning through her. She had so many anxious thoughts.
It was doing exactly what Vyses had said that it would though. It helped her control her powers. He did not tell her, however, that it was doing so by controlling her emotions.
All the mood swings, the anger, the anxiety that fueled her — it was all created and manipulated by the talisman.
Ravenna found herself standing in front of the door that led to the royal chambers. She dropped the pendant, allowing it to fall against her chest once more. Her hands shook as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The door shut quietly behind her. Then she slumped back against it, her hands pressed flat against it. Her knees trembled as she slowly slid down to the floor. Her hands lifted to cover her mouth and she stared blankly at the floor beneath her.
An abundance of emotions overwhelmed her. Anger. Heartbreak. Betrayal.
Vyses had lied to her about Caelan. He had also made it clear that he knew something about the night she had gained her powers. A night that she had no memories telling him about. He also took advantage of her ignorance to magic, providing her with a solution to a problem that he could use to control her.
Her fingers curled tight around the talisman's chain. "I have to get this thing off," she whispered to herself.